Case Studies

Jeenie interpreting service drives equity and an estimated 25% increase in productivity

Written by Jeenie Team | February 7, 2025

About the client:

The Organization supports over 120,000 families and individuals across Chicago and surrounding areas who speak a wide array of languages, with 81% of clients coming from working poor or lower-middle-class backgrounds. It is a nonprofit with a staff of over 1,000 and provides a broad range of services, including family support, legal aid, and crisis intervention.

The organization realized that relying on bilingual staff wasn’t sustainable for their communication needs. However, they faced significant challenges with an audio-only language service that was hard to navigate, had long wait times, and was often unreliable -especially during after-hours situations.

Additionally, they struggled to secure quality in-person interpreters and allocate budget for language services.

It was clear they needed a more efficient, scalable solution for high-quality interpretation to bridge language gaps, provide equal access, and support their mission of empowerment.

 

“From operations to recruitment to the way we operate with our clients as an Agency—Jeenie has made a positive impact.” - Elizabeth (IT Director)

*Metropolitan estimates Jeenie has increased overall time management and operational productivity for recruiting and staff allocation by a whopping 25%.

 

Top languages
Spanish, Haitian, French, Amharic, Russian, Arabic, Ukrainian, Mandarin, and Farsi

Industry
Legal & Family Services

Real-World Results: A Better Interpreter Service, Fast Connections, and Increased Productivity

Since adopting Jeenie, our Client has seen significant improvements in language service delivery, operational efficiency, and client satisfaction. Below is a list of key areas they identified as notable wins:

 

1. Improved Access for Critical Services

Jeenie’s 24/7 access to critical support via mobile devices enables the Organization to bridge language barriers in legal, educational, and crisis support. This is especially vital for urgent after-hours issues in their Crisis Center programs, ensuring on-demand interpreter availability for all clients.

2. Confidence in Interpreter Quality

They struggled with hiring and verifying in-house interpreter skill. Jeenie removes this concern by providing a vetted, experienced, global pool of interpreters - ensuring consistent quality and best-in-class service.

 

3. No Pushback

The integration of Jeenie was remarkably smooth. The Client's IT team reported fast onboarding and no staff resistance, a rare occurrence. Jeenie’s intuitive design quickly became an indispensable tool across departments.

 

As one IT team member put it,
“This never happens! For us, it’s a clear indicator of how seamlessly Jeenie has fit into our systems and met staff needs.”

 

4. Standardization

Implementing Jeenie helped lead to the development of a standardization protocol for services and software. Leadership wanted to make sure all departments could quickly identify approved “best-in-class” tool for interpreters, video conferencing, and more. This has streamlined processes and reduced confusion, improving overall efficiency.

 

5. Jeenie's Zoom Integration

An additional efficiency win for the Client is the ability to easily bring Jeenie interpreters into Zoom meetings, the Organization's meeting platform. The Jeenie for Zoom integration made it easy for their team to get interpreting in-the-moment directly within their meetings. 

 

6. Cost and Time Savings

Jeenie’s on-demand platform provided significant cost and time savings for the Client. That included an estimated 25% increase in productivity due to better time management (operational and staff) due to easier recruiting and improved staff allocation. Key benefits include:

  • Paying Only for What’s Needed
    They only pay for interpreters when required, eliminating the need for costly in-house interpreting staff and reducing service costs.
  • Expanding the Talent Pool
    By removing language requirements, they can more quickly find and hire the best candidates for each role, expanding their talent pool significantly and slashing recruiting time.
  • Improved Staff Productivity With Jeenie handling language services, multilingual staff no longer need to step away from their core tasks, boosting overall productivity.
  • Saving Time with Faster, On-Demand Access Instant access to interpreters reduces waiting times, enhancing client satisfaction and enabling faster interventions in critical situations.


Here's some of the feedback we heard from staff:

The Bigger Picture:
Empowerment Through Language Access

Language access is essential for ensuring equity. By connecting with Jeenie’s skilled interpreters in real-time, our Client helps their community understand their rights, make informed decisions, and engage fully with support systems. As an organization, they remain committed to language equity as a crucial part of their mission.